A significant sentence. On the Al Jazeera Web site, there was a report of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of Hamas’ and Hizbullah’s “adventurism.” The Saudis claimed that “gains” made by Arab leaders were being put in danger. The Al Jazeera report carried the pithy comment to the effect that the Saudi government did not say […]
Archive | Commentary
Monthly Review Magazine
When Worlds Collide
When Fabio Grosso placed his penalty kick into the back of the French goal, Italians around the globe erupted into a state of euphoria. I was one of those Italians, hungrily following every kicked ball throughout Italy’s run to winning its fourth World Cup, which ranks second only to Brazil’s five. For my brother […]
McDonough Calls Canada’s Gov’t on War Crime Complicity
July 14, 2006 Hon. Peter MacKay Minister of Foreign Affairs Lester B. Pearson Bldg., A-10 125 Sussex Dr. Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2 Dear Minister, I write to express outrage at your government’s response to the destruction levelled by Israel on the innocent civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. The world has rightly condemned the killings and […]
A Lesson of Lidice
Click on the cartoon for a larger view. A Lesson of Lidice Carlos Latuff, born in Rio de Janeiro on 30 November 1968, is a political cartoonist. He is the author of the famous “We Are All Palestinians” series, comparing oppressed peoples at various times and places (Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, Blacks in South […]
Declaration of the Syrian Communist Party
Glory to the Heroic Palestinian Resistance! Shame and Humiliation on the Collaborators! To our steadfast people, The Palestinian people in the occupied territories are being subjected to a humanitarian disaster as a result of the Zionist criminal escalation that has led to the deaths of dozens, the destruction of the vital infrastructure of electric power […]
What They Want Is the Head of the Resistance Movement
Click on the image to watch the program at the Mosaic Archive. “Israel Mobilizes Towards Hezbollah Positions,” Abu Dhabi TV, UAE, Mosaic: News from the Middle East, 14 July 2006 It’s war again. As in the past, it’s an Israeli war in terms of the men and materiel; a joint Israeli-American war in terms […]
The Address of the General Secretary of Hizballah, His Excellency Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, to the Nation, the Lebanese People, the Resistance Fighters, the Zionists, and the Arab Leaders
Friday, 14 July 2006 Peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings! Click on the image to watch the program at the Mosaic Archives “Nassrallah Warns of an Open War,” NBN TV, Lebanon, Mosaic: News from the Middle East, 14 July 2006 To begin with, in this first address that I […]
Toward a New Politics? After the CAW-NDP Divorce
On April 21, 2006, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) broke with a tradition that extended over half a century and voted to leave the New Democratic Party (NDP). A few CAW activists shrugged their shoulders: the impact of the NDP on their daily struggles had been minimal, so setting it aside did not seem to […]
L’Affaire Zidane: “Some Things Are Bigger than Football”
Like many millions of fans of “Les Bleus,” France’s multi-ethnic football team, I was stunned and dismayed by the strange denouement of last Sunday’s World Cup final. Our hero Zinedine Zidane, the greatest player of his generation and an exemplary figure in many ways, was ejected from the game with ten minutes to go […]
Adieu, Zizou
The “beautiful game” bade him a cruel farewell, much of polite society denounced him, and the FIFA president threatened to take back his Golden Ball award. But some things just don’t change. An adoring crowd in Paris gave the Les Bleus a heroes’ welcome and Zizou the farewell he deserved. The French President could have […]
Collective Punishment
Click on the cartoon for a larger view. Collective Punishment Carlos Latuff, born in Rio de Janeiro on 30 November 1968, is a political cartoonist. He is the author of the famous “We Are All Palestinians” series, comparing oppressed peoples at various times and places (Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, Blacks in South Africa, Blacks […]
“Recognize the Centrality of the Palestine Question”: An Interview with George Galloway
George Galloway MP is the controversial British politician who has proved a thorn in the side of advocates of the Iraq war. He is a fierce advocate of the Palestinian state, and a redoubtable campaigner against oppression and injustice throughout the world. In 2005 he made a memorable appearance before the US Senate, successfully […]
What Do the Iranians Want?
The priority of the Iranian people, according to the Zogby poll released on 13 July 2006,1 is economy: 41% say economy should be Iran’s top priority, a far larger proportion than those who regard nuclear capability (27%) or freedom (23%) as the most important. The correct priority if you ask me, as the Supreme Leader […]
Global Oil Market Dangers
International intrigues and eventually war — with all its now daily horrors — flow partly from the highly unstable economics of global oil. Not only has this been true for a long time, it promises to continue that way unless and until some mass movement ends it. The report of US planning to bomb Iran […]
CUPE “Boycott Israel” Debate Rages On
As trade union and community activists, socialists, and officials in our respective union organizations, we strongly support the recent Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario resolution supporting the international Boycott Israel campaign. The resolution criticizes Israel’s continuing occupation of Palestinian territory, characterizing it as “apartheid.” It calls on the union to develop an […]
Sophie Maslow and Woody Guthrie
“Sophie’s body looked so healthy and so active it looked like it would do almost anything she told it to do. All she had to do was notify it.” — Woody Guthrie My mother, Marjorie Mazia, and Sophie Maslow were both dancers with the Martha Graham Dance Company in the 1930s – 50s. It […]
Towards A Radical Youth Movement: The New SDS
From August 4th through the 7th, a new incarnation of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) will hold its first national convention. This organization will have been around for almost a year when it meets in Chicago. Obviously taking its inspiration from the famed US student organization of the 1960s, the new SDS is an […]
Impeach the President of the United States
We have pledged to help reclaim the honor of the United States of America. Accordingly, we call for the impeachment of the president of the United States, George W. Bush. Since lying in combat could needlessly cost the lives of fighting men and women, West Point graduates have been trained to live by a code […]
Race Track
Working people like to gamble. It adds excitement to life and allows us to dream that we might be able to live without working at jobs we detest. As a boy, I played poker, shot nine-ball, pot bowled, bet the ponies, and even hit the bingo tables once. “Hap,” the man who ran the […]
Bush in Stralsund: “Not Welcome, Mr. President!”
How welcomes can vary in content within one week in Germany! In the past four weeks, Germany was seized by a soccer fever which sometimes seemed almost alarming. The outdoor temperature was steadily hot and dry, but it was the hot fever of flag-waving patriotism — or was it nationalism — which affected so many. […]
